The teams caught scrambled Thursday to make compliant spacers, which are used to attach the hinge of the roof flaps.

Teams and manufacturers get roof flaps from Roush Composites and, according to the NASCAR rulebook, “the hinged air deflectors must be installed as specified in the instruction sheet supplied with the hinged air deflector kit.”

But it was apparent that many teams had lightened the spacers or changed them. It wasn’t clear what tipped off NASCAR inspectors to the violations, but after a sweep of the Sprint Cup garage Thursday, NASCAR went through the Nationwide garage and took pieces from 15 Nationwide teams Thursday night.

A non-compliant part might just be a monetary penalty but because it dealt with a safety piece — the roof flaps pop up during a spin to try to keep the car on the ground — a points penalty is definitely possible, as well as crew suspensions.

NASCAR traditionally issues penalties the Tuesday after a race weekend.

“I’m not sure why you would do it at Daytona but common practice is anything up high, if you are going to make it lighter, you’re going to make (the car) lighter,” said TNT analyst and former crew chief Larry McReynolds.

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said the widespread use of the illegal spacers most likely indicates that those pieces had gotten through inspection previously.

“It’s probably not something that was on a normal inspection routine,” Pemberton said. “The teams are told that they must assemble all that stuff using all the parts that’s in the kit.

“Once in a while you’ll find things like that and it’s probably something that teams have probably done a little bit in the past.”

Whether the number of teams involved will impact the penalties and whether crew chiefs who are on probation will face more severe penalties will be determined Monday and Tuesday, Pemberton said.

In the Sprint Cup Series, it was primarily Ford and Toyota teams that had parts confiscated. Jamie McMurray’s Earnhardt Ganassi team was the only Chevrolet team that had to make a fix.

The Ford teams with the illegal spacers were all three Roush Fenway Racing cars, both Penske Racing cars, both Richard Petty Motorsports cars, Germain Racing and Wood Brothers Racing.

The Toyota teams with illegal spacers were all three Michael Waltrip Racing teams and all three Joe Gibbs Racing teams.

“The situation is NASCAR has taken the stance that the entire package be installed the way that it is delivered to you from Roush Composites,” Penske Racing Competition Director Travis Geisler said. “That part is different than what is delivered in the Roush Composites’ kit.

“There are fit and finish things that you cut up and change to get them to fit in your cars. Yes, that part is different than what is delivered in the kit and they have the stance that everything in that kit is what has to be in that car.”

Because teams didn’t have extra kits at Daytona, NASCAR allowed the teams to make spacers that were compliant.

“We have been told you don’t mess with the roof flaps and so we haven’t,” said Jeff Burton, whose Richard Childress Racing team was in compliance.

“That’s not to say I never have because they cut the roof off one of my cars one time at Talladega and I was fined. … I don’t ever want anybody to get fined or penalized and I’m not looking for a break by that, but I think there will be fines and penalties because you’re not supposed to do that. It’s sacred territory.”

Most in the garage believe there will be penalties, it’s just a matter of how big.

“If you mess with a safety part, yes (there will be penalties),” said Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Newman. “I don’t know if there is an advantage or disadvantage but (there will be).”

If 16 teams get penalized, that’s 37 percent of the field and eight of the top-15 teams in the Cup standings.

“If there’s ever been a way to send the message to the garage, this would be it right here,” McReynolds said.

Brad Keselowski, whose team already has been penalized 31 points this year, said parts that haven't been raced should just be replaced and “problem solved.”

“I thought that model served the sport fairly well. … I don’t know how (this one) is going to pan out,” Keselowski said. “I don’t have a crystal ball. It’s not what you want to see.”

Matt Kenseth joked that Pemberton might have lightened roof flaps back in the days when he was a crew chief.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be penalties or not,” said Kenseth’s JGR teammate Kyle Busch. “With as many teams that had infractions, maybe there was something in the rule that wasn’t clear or everybody was cheating. I don’t know.

“Certainly we all try to do the best we can with trying to get weight out of these cars, especially weight that is up high. A roof flap is the first place everybody is going to look. A lot of teams were doing it. Ours were safer than some others but that still doesn’t constitute what the rule says.”